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The bond market has entered a financial twilight zone, and at this point, there doesn't seem to be a smooth way out.Market Insiderread more
Trump said he has "been thinking about payroll taxes for a long time" — and he cautioned that "whether or not we do something now, it's not being done because of recession."Politicsread more
After Elon Musk touts Tesla solar on Twitter, Walmart sues the electric vehicle and clean energy company over store rooftop panels that ignited.Technologyread more
Market bull Jeff Saut told CNBC on Tuesday that the lows are in and the market is headed "much higher."Marketsread more
Urban Outfitters reported earnings and same-store sales for the second quarter that beat analyst expectations, while revenue fell short.Retailread more
President Donald Trump believes he has quite the bargaining chip with the European Union.Marketsread more
Some Apple employees have become disillusioned with the group's culture, where some have thrived while others feel sidelined.Technologyread more
President Donald Trump renewed calls Tuesday to readmit Russia to the G-7 ahead of the group's summit in Biarritz, France, this weekend.Politicsread more
Biden has shown staying power at the top of a jammed Democratic field even as polling numbers for Sanders, Warren and Harris wax and wane.2020 Electionsread more
The FDIC on Tuesday votes to approve a five-agency revision of the post-crisis regulation known as the Volcker Rule.Financeread more
The yield curve is the only economic indicator pointing to a recession, according to Credit Suisse.Marketsread more
U.S. small business optimism dipped in August as owners worried about the economy's near-term outlook, but gains in sales expectations and hiring plans hinted at a pick-up in the pace of economic growth.
The National Federation of Independent Business said on Tuesday its Small Business Optimism Index slipped 0.1 point to 94 last month.
While details of the survey were fairly mixed, key indicators such as planned hiring, capital spending, inventory accumulation and sales all advanced in August, suggesting an improvement in sentiment in the months ahead.
"Capital spending and inventory investment plans increased as well, all activities that would put some energy into GDP (gross domestic product) growth," the NFIB said in a statement.
That would fit in with expectations of an acceleration in activity in the second half of the year, though growth slowed somewhat early in the third quarter. The economy grew at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the first half of the year.
There was a big increase in job creation plans, which jumped to levels last seen in January 2007, a positive sign for the labor market amid signs of a slowing in job growth trend.
(Read more: US still a perceived land of opportunity—for some)
However, the share of firms reporting they could not find suitable candidates to fill open positions fell.
While owners were optimistic about sales, they were downbeat on earnings. Expectations for business conditions over the next six months fell again in August. There was also a decline in the share of owners saying this was a good time to expand.


text: On July 26, SME Support, JAPAN hosted the "Myanmar Regional Enterprise CEO Business Talks & Seminar" event in Tokyo. The seminar was attended by 160 people affiliated with enterprises and the business talks was attended by close to 90 members of Japanese enterprises and Myanmar enterprises registered on J-GoodTech, a business matching site run by SME Support, JAPAN. The event was a chance for enterprises to explore business partnerships and other opportunities. One comment from a Japanese enterprise affiliate was representative of many other such comments: "I'm happy to have been able to hear directly from local enterprises while being in Japan. I'm very interested in further such talks." The Fukuoka event was held on the 28th.

domain: news


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Ralph Lauren’s recent collaboration with the renowned online gaming platform Fortnite on August 1st signifies more than a mere foray into the metaverse. It’s a strategic step grounded in a profound belief in the metaverse’s untapped potential. To clarify, this innovative partnership presents the Polo Ralph Lauren x Fortnite P-Wing Boot. This shoe bridges virtual and physical worlds and also resonates deeply with a new generation of consumers.
Ralph Lauren’s choice to venture into the metaverse aligns with its visionary perspective on the digital landscape. As the metaverse’s possibilities continue to evolve, the brand sees it as more than just a trend. They like to see it as an expansive terrain for forging authentic connections with tech-savvy audiences.
- Ralph Lauren collaborates with Fortnite, unveiling the Polo Ralph Lauren x Fortnite P-Wing Boot. A virtual fashion item turned limited-edition real-world collectible.
- The brand embraces the metaverse’s potential for immersive engagement. It recognizes it as a dynamic space to connect with tech-savvy consumers and transcend traditional advertising channels.
- By merging virtual and physical realms, Ralph Lauren also pioneers creativity, exclusivity, and strategic alignment.
Ralph Lauren -x- Fortnite: High Fashion’s Latest Canvas for Creativity
In an era where traditional advertising channels face saturation, Ralph Lauren recognizes the metaverse as an arena where brands can captivate audiences anew. The metaverse isn’t confined to screens; it’s an immersive domain where brands can transcend the ordinary, offering dynamic experiences that resonate deeply with a diverse demographic.
The metaverse’s allure lies in its exclusivity and innovation. Moreover, Ralph Lauren understands this intrinsic value and leverages it by offering limited-edition digital items that have tangible counterparts. This synergy between virtual and real resonates with consumers seeking unique experiences and collectibles that echo their individuality.
Strategic Alignment with the Fortnite Partnership
Ralph Lauren’s partnership with Fortnite isn’t a coincidence; it’s a strategic alignment. By introducing a digital collection in Fortnite’s Item Shop, the brand seizes the opportunity to make an impact in an immersive virtual environment. This strategic move intertwines the fashion giant’s legacy with the dynamic world of gaming.
The August 1st release demonstrates a brand that’s looking ahead. Furthermore, it’s about recognizing the metaverse as more than a buzzword – it’s a space to reshape consumer engagement, melding tradition with innovation, and connecting with digital-native audiences.
Ralph Lauren’s collaboration with Fortnite heralds a deeper exploration of the metaverse’s potential. As Ralph Lauren pioneers this digital journey, it also stands as a beacon for other brands to step beyond conventions and craft the future of brand-consumer interactions in the metaverse


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The OnePlus 3T is a stellar flagship by any measure. But the smartphone finds itself at a disadvantage given that a number of new smartphones have popped up since then. However, for a phone that offers a stellar display, brilliant camera, along with a hefty amount of RAM and storage for just under Rs 30,000, the OnePlus 3T is a catch.
However, the equation has changed significantly since the arrival of the OnePlus 5. Announced very recently, the smartphone has the potential to go up against the best in the industry. The “Never Settle” tagline finally makes sense to now. Featuring a dual-camera setup and the Snapdragon 835 chipset under the hood, OnePlus has managed to take notice yet again.
So what does this mean for the OnePlus 3T?
Well, there’s no contest really, which is always the case when an upgraded model shows up in the market. The OnePlus 3T is pretty good on its own, but will still find it difficult to grab the eyeballs now with the arrival of the OnePlus 5. With that being said, all is clearly not over for last year’s flagship.
Does it make sense to get the OnePlus 3T now?
Well, it doesn’t. Plainly because OnePlus is yet to slash the pricing of the handset, and it’s still selling for Rs 29,999 and Rs 26,999 on Amazon India. Perhaps when the OnePlus 5 officially hits the markets, the company will decide to give the 3T a big discount, encouraging more users to purchase the handset. The company has already mentioned that it will no longer produce the OnePlus 3T, although the phone will continue to sell in the Indian markets until at least later this year.
Is it possible that the phone will go out of stock soon?
This is likely to happen as it’s basically a race against time at this point. With OnePlus no longer manufacturing the handset, the company is merely looking to clear out the inventory. Although one can’t confirm if the company has completely shut down production of the handset, it’s likely that the phone will be harder to get in a couple of months from now. However, the company had earlier confirmed that the OnePlus 3t (both 64GB and 128GB variants) will continue to be available until later this year.
Manufacturers offer massive discounts on products as a last ditch effort to sell out their stocks quickly. But it’s hard to tell if the company will take that step at this point. So if you’re planning to get the OnePlus 3T, we suggest you wait till the OnePlus 5 reaches the shelves, and expect a price reduction. Customers also need to hope that the device stays in stock by then.


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On Common Ground News is presenting Peabo Bryson at the Lithonia Amphitheater, 2501 Park Drive, on Saturday, Sept. 10, 7 to 11 p.m. The JFly production, “A Night of Jazz & R&B,” also will include special guests Dee Lucas, the Heather Hayes Experience and Brooke Alford.
Proceeds benefit “The How Big Is Your Dream? Foundation, a nonprofit that provides training and summer camps to youths who are interested in honing their musical talents for the entertainment industry.
Guests are welcome to bring their own food and beverages or purchase food and beverages from vendors.
Advance tickets start at only $30/ $35 at the door. To purchase tickets, visit ocgconcerts.com. For vending opportunities, call Glenn Morgan 678-770-7851.


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The European Union turned its sights on the Assad couple's high-end lifestyle Monday, banning the export of luxury goods as part of new sanctions to punish the regime's relentless violence.
In a 14th round of EU sanctions against Syria in a year, EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg banned shipments of luxury items to Damascus and further restricted the sale of goods used to repress dissidents.
"The EU will continue its policy of imposing additional measures targeting the regime ... as long as repression continues," ministers said in a statement.
Russia, which has agreed to the presence of UN truce monitors, at the weekend condemned the idea of new EU sanctions.
But European ministers and diplomats said the new restrictive measures were a direct response to continuing violence in Syria, despite the presence of UN truce observers in the country.
"It is very important for us to keep up that pressure, step up that pressure," said British Foreign Secretary William Hague. "They are not in full compliance of the ceasefire requirements of the (Kofi) Annan plan."
Under a truce plan brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan, some 30 unarmed UN observers are expected in Syria in coming days ahead of the arrival of an expanded team of up to 300 monitors.
Despite a lull in the fighting in regions visited by the monitors, violence has continued elsewhere 11 days into the ceasefire, with Syrian troops killing 28 civilians in the central city of Hama on Monday, monitors said.
The United Nations has said that more than 9,000 people have died since the revolt against Assad's regime broke out in March last year.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the EU Foreign Ministers approved the new set of sanctions "because of deep concern about the situation and continuing violence in spite of the cease-fire."
"We call on the government to withdraw troops from towns and cities," she said after the meeting.
“We call once again on the opposition to make sure that they work towards a common inclusive opposition for Syria's future and as you probably know we have a mission on the ground in Syria today.”
There was a mixed response from EU ministers on Annan's chances of success.
"It is hard to be optimistic after everything that has happened in the last 13 months in Syria and the Syrian regime continues to fail to implement key aspects of the ceasefire," Hague told reporters.
"This is a regime that is continuing in some cases to kill, to abuse and that only implemented a ceasefire at the last possible moment," he added.
“We have welcomed the unanimous adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution and call for Kofi Annan's plan to be implemented immediately and in its entirety and we remain in close touch with Kofi Annan and his team,” Ashton said.
On the new sanctions, diplomats told AFP that the exact scope of the luxury goods affected would be defined in the next fortnight but that the ban was a symbolic blow at the high-end tastes of President Bashar al-Assad and his glamorous British-born wife Asma.
A luxury goods ban against North Korea in 2007 barred exports of fine foods such as caviar and truffles, as well as fine wines, designer accessories and thoroughbred horses.
The luxury ban "constitutes a loss of prestige for leading circles of the regime," said German Minister of State Michael Link.
Asked whether the EU was running out of sanctions, Hague said on leaving the talks that the sanctions "were obviously not as important an item financially as the ban on import of oil into the EU".
"But it shows our readiness to continue to intensify the sanctions," he said.
The EU a month ago tightened the noose on Assad's family, slapping a travel ban and asset freeze on his wife, mother and sister.
His immediate family were among 12 people and two oil companies added to an existing EU blacklist totalling 126 people and 41 firms or utilities.
The EU ban on luxury items appears to take direct aim at some of Syrian President Bashar Assad's most loyal supporters: the business community and prosperous merchant classes that are key to propping up the regime. An influential bloc, the business leaders have long traded political freedoms for economic privileges in Syria.
So far, the wealthy classes have stuck to the sidelines, but if the economic squeeze reaches them, it could be a game changer, analysts say.
Assad, who inherited power in 2000, spent years shifting the country away from the socialism espoused by his father. In the process, he helped boost a new and vibrant merchant class that transformed Syria's economic landscape even as the regime's political trappings remained unchanged.
Emails purportedly from Assad and his wife Asma, published in February by London's Guardian newspaper, indicated that the Syrian first lady has a taste for the finer things in life. The emails, whose authenticity has been questioned, revealed the first lady shopping online for crystal-encrusted Christian Louboutin stilettos, expensive jewelry, custom-made furniture and other luxury goods as violence swept the country.


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SYDNEY, Australia and SINGAPORE, March 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mia Watanabe, Chief Administrative Officer for Flywire APAC, will present at the SEACEN-MAS FinTech Seminar, which will take place 12 to 14 March, 2018 in Singapore. Flywire will be one of six FinTech companies presenting to participants from the South East Asian Central Banks and monetary authorities working on policy and other matters such as financial supervision, payments, and financial stability.
The seminar is aimed to engender an in-depth discussion of FinTech, potential areas of application for new technologies, challenges and risks, and regulation. It will also provide the opportunity for participants to develop a better understanding of the FinTech ecosystem.
Watanabe will discuss Flywire’s global payment and receivables business model and the opportunities and challenges the company has navigated as it has expanded across the Asia Pacific region. The session will take place on 14 March at 10:30 am. She will be preceded by a presentation by the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) beginning at 9:30 am.
More information on the FinTech Seminar is available at SEACEN.
Flywire is a leading provider of global payment and receivables solutions, connecting over 1,400 businesses and institutions with their customers on six continents. The company processes billions in payments per year from 220 countries and territories, via bank transfer, credit card and e-wallet solutions, in over 120 different local currencies. Flywire’s scalable platform provides currency conversion at exchange rates that can offer significant savings when compared to home-market banks and credit card providers. The company also supports its clients with end-to-end customer support including multilingual servicing via phone, email, and chat, as well as 24/7 online payment tracking. Flywire is headquartered in Boston, MA with operations in London and Manchester, UK; Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan; Singapore; Sydney, Australia; and Valencia, Spain. For more information, visit www.Flywire.com.
Media Contact: Tim Walsh for Flywire


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IT leaders should not just cut costs, but look for other forms of operational excellence and technologies that can help them maximize resiliency and scale solutions. This requires the adoption of sector-specific products and the creation of new forms of engagement: this is the usual credo of the research firm Gartner which, as every year, presents its 10 main strategic technological trends for the year 2023. unveiled at its IT/Xpo 2022 symposium.
Among these trends, the American firm cites the multiple forms of wireless, artificial intelligence and sustainability, according to Frances Karamouzis, vice president and analyst at Gartner, and external events making the decisions and strategic choices of digital decision-makers still more difficult. “Depending on which part of the world you are in, there are many issues looming, such as a potential recession, supply chain concerns, the war in Ukraine and its impact, and issues related to energy,” Ms. Karamouzis said.
IT leaders should focus on continuing to accelerate digital transformation and consider the possible use of technologies that can be applied immediately and those that are on the horizon. Against this background, Gartner’s top 10 strategic technology trends for 2023 are as follows.
5G and WiFi 6 and 7 to open up the network
No single wireless technology will dominate in 2023, but enterprises will use a variety of wireless solutions to support diverse environments, from office WiFi to mobile device services to low-power protocols ( IoT) or even radio connectivity, Gartner said. So much so that the firm predicts that by 2025, 60% of enterprises will use five or more wireless technologies simultaneously. “We’re going to see a spectrum of solutions in the enterprise that includes 4G, 5G, WIFI 5, 6, 7 all of which will create new data for businesses to use in analytics, and low-power systems. harvest energy directly from the grid. This means that the network will become a source of direct business value,” said Ms. Karamouzis. As wireless networks move beyond simple connectivity, they will also provide insights through built-in analytics, she added.
The rise of superapps
According to Gartner, enterprises will increasingly adopt a type of platform that combines the functionality of multiple applications and services into a single ecosystem, the superapp. Superapp technology has been in the news recently, as Elon Musk said he wants to make Twitter the first truly successful superapp in North America. Superapps have made waves in Asia with platforms such as WeChat, AliPay and Gojek. “While most examples of superapps are mobile apps, the concept can also be applied to desktop client apps, like Microsoft Teams and Slack, the gist of which is that a superapp can consolidate and replace multiple apps at once. customer or employee use,” Ms. Karamouzis said. By 2027,
Sector-specific cloud computing platforms
Like superapps, major industry cloud platforms offer a combination of software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS). ) that provide capabilities to support specific industry use cases. Enterprises can use these packaged capabilities as building blocks to differentiate digital business initiatives and provide agility, innovation, and reduced time to market. Gartner predicts that by 2027, more than 50% of enterprises will use industrial cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives.
Adaptive AI systems
Gartner has previously flagged AI as a mission-critical technology, but this year it’s seeing a new trend: adaptive AI systems that continually relearn their intelligence models. These modules can learn within the runtime and application development environments based on new data and thus quickly adapt to unforeseen real-world circumstances.
“Today, if a business has a SaaS application or a new release, they can just update the software and things usually keep working, but that’s not possible with AI because she literally learns what to do on the fly,” Ms. Karamouzis said. AI applications use real-time feedback to dynamically modify their learning and adjust their goals.
AI trust, risk and security management
Also related to AI, Gartner indicates that many organizations are not well prepared to manage AI-related risks. Organizations should implement additional capabilities to ensure the reliability, security, and data protection of their AI models by adopting AI Trust, Risk, and Security Management (TRiSM). This requires the participation of different business units working together to implement new measures.
A survey conducted by Gartner in the US, UK and Germany found that 41% of organizations had experienced a privacy breach or security incident related to AI. However, that same survey found that organizations that actively manage AI risk, privacy, and security performed better in their AI projects, Gartner said. More AI projects led by these organizations moved from proof of concept to production, and they achieved greater business value than AI projects led by organizations that were not actively managing these functions , said Gartner.
Observability to strengthen supervision
Observable data includes digitized artifacts, such as logs, traces, API calls, wait time, downloads, and file transfers, which are generated when a stakeholder takes some action. “Applied observability allows organizations to leverage their data artifacts to gain competitive advantage,” said Karamouzis. “It’s powerful because it elevates the strategic importance of the right data at the right time for rapid action based on confirmed stakeholder actions, rather than intentions. When strategically planned and successfully executed, applied observability is the most powerful source of data-driven decision making.” This type of
The discipline of building and operating internal developer self-service platforms for software delivery and lifecycle management is the essence of platform engineering, Karamouzis said. Gartner predicts that 80% of software engineering organizations will have platform teams in place by 2026 and that 75% will include developer self-service portals, which could include a variety of reusable components and tool libraries and other modules.
Digital Immune System
A digital immunity system provides a roadmap for CIOs looking for new approaches their teams can take to deliver high business value, mitigate risk, and increase customer satisfaction. According to Gartner, Digital Immunity combines a data-driven view of operations, automated and extreme testing, automated incident resolution, software engineering within IT operations, and security within the application supply chain to increase system resilience and stability. The firm predicts that by 2025, organizations that invest in building digital immunity will reduce system downtime by up to 80%,
Sustainability now essential
Sustainability transcends all strategic technology trends for 2023. In a recent Gartner survey, CEOs indicated that environmental and social change is now among the top three priorities for investors, after profits and revenue. This means that leaders must invest more in innovative solutions designed to meet environmental, social and governance demand in order to achieve sustainability goals. Gartner noted that sustainability-related spending has increased an average of 5.8% since 2017. Organizations need a sustainable technology framework that increases the energy and material efficiency of IT services, and enables business sustainability. business through traceability, analytics, renewable energy and AI. This framework should also call for the deployment of IT solutions that help customers achieve their own sustainability goals, Ms. Karamouzis said.
“Targeting areas like data center power consumption is an easy fruit to pick because it’s easy to measure,” Karamouzis said. “What companies need to look at is what to deploy as they get more and more data. Are they looking to buy more storage in the same way or are they looking to optimize that system by looking at things like DNA storage and the level of redundancy they need and implementing technology with a mindset sustainable “. According to Gartner, DNA storage allows binary digital data to be stored in the DNA double helix, taking binary coding and transforming it into coding that fits the human DNA strand. This means that the equivalent of
During its keynote, Gartner said the metaverse, while it may never become mainstream, holds promise. For example, Indian start-up Hirect launched a VR recruitment event in a metaverse for companies trying to attract tech talent. Gartner envisions that a complete metaverse will be device independent and not owned by a single vendor. It will include a clean virtual economy, made possible by digital currencies and other non-fungible tokens (NFTs). By 2027, Gartner predicts that more than 40% of large organizations worldwide will use a combination of Web3, cloud augmented reality, and digital twin-based projects to increase revenue.
Gartner defines a metaverse as a shared virtual 3D collective space created by the convergence of physical and digital virtual augmented reality. A metaverse is persistent and provides enhanced immersive experiences.


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So far two-thirds of stocks within the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) have reported earnings, painting a healthy picture for corporate profitability. Of the companies that have reported, 70% have beat earnings estimates and 65% have beat revenue expectations. On average, revenues increased 7% year-over-year, while earnings rose 11%. As a result of the broad market breadth, equal weight ETFs outperformed their market-cap weighted counterparts for a fourth week in a row.
Expect volatility to climb again this week as small caps take center stage in the earnings season. If the Nasdaq (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) fails to break the 3,200 level on Monday, consider taking some profits in the sector, or at the very least, buying some puts on technology and small-cap positions.
Next Weeks’ Market Moving Events:
- Monday: Loews Corporation (NYSE:L) reported earnings this morning and more than 100 small-cap companies will report earnings today.
- Tuesday: Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF), Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE:CCE), and Goodyear Tire (NASDAQ:GT) are set to report earnings.
- Wednesday: Retail Sales and Import / Export Prices will give investors further insights into the state of our economy. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Deere (NYSE:DE), and Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) are among the widely held stocks reporting earnings today.
- Thursday:GM (NYSE:GM), Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP), Apache (NYSE:APA), and PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) report earnings
- Friday: Consumer Sentiment, Industrial Production, and The Empire State Manufacturing report could make Fridays’ trading volatile. Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) and Kraft Foods (NASDAQ:KRFT) report earnin


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LeBron: The next Buffett?
Whether LeBron James can ever become the next Michael Jordan, he's aiming for even greater off-court success: becoming the first billionaire athlete.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Forget whether LeBron James is the next Michael Jordan. The more interesting question is whether he can be the next Warren Buffett.
James, the 22-year old star of the Cleveland Cavaliers, has been hyped as the game's next superstar since he was in high school. And his own ambitions are no less grand - he has stated a desire to be the first billionaire athlete.
James was drafted right out of high school, a $90 million shoe contract with Nike (Charts, Fortune 500) in tow. He has since picked up endorsement contracts with Coca-Cola's (Charts, Fortune 500) Sprite and Powerade has even appeared in a spot for the rollout of Vista, the new operating system for Microsoft (Charts, Fortune 500).
Last summer he signed an $80 million contract extension with the Cavaliers.
This year he almost single handedly took his team to the NBA Finals, and while his play, and that of his team, left many fans unimpressed (at least those few who were watching anyway), the playoffs have still been a notable accomplishment for a player both younger, and with a much weaker supporting cast, than Jordan had during his championship years.
Even with Cleveland getting swept in the NBA Finals, it wouldn't be surprising to see his endorsements pick up.
Still, James' NBA paychecks and his sponsors' largess aren't going to be enough to get him to the billion-dollar threshold. But despite not attending a day of college, James is good enough at math to understand that. That's why he's taking a different approach to wealth management.
Last year he sought out Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha and the world's second richest man.
James traveled to Omaha in September, just before the start of the NBA season, to have lunch with Buffett and his daughter. Buffett came to Cleveland in March to sit courtside as a guest of James at a Cavaliers-Nuggets game.
Exactly what the two have talked about, no one is saying.
"Mr. Buffett is a huge fan of LeBron. He said LeBron is as classy a human being as he is a basketball player; very smart and with a great sense of humor," said Buffett's assistant Debbie Bosanek when asked about the relationship the two have developed.
Maverick Carter, James' manager and partner in LRMR Marketing, the sports marketing firm James and he started, also is guarded. He simply said that James has appreciated what he learned about business from Buffett.
Carter also said James' goal of being a billionaire has been taken somewhat out of context. What he wants is his total business interests to top the $1 billion mark, but that would include the value of Nike's line of LeBron-branded shoes and apparel, or other products associated with his name, even if the business is owned by someone else.
Beyond that qualification, Carter said James is very interested in putting his money to work for him, rather than just look to income from pay and endorsements to build his net worth.
In March he announced that he had bought a stake of undisclosed size in privately-held, high-end bicycle maker Cannondale. Carter says James also has lower profile investments in a number of business start ups and in real estate.
"It's impossible to get to a billion dollars by endorsement deals," said Carter. "The biggest deals only take you so far. It's how you make money when you're asleep that's going to get you there."
I'm sure everyone who talks about sports being too much about money can point to James' billion-dollar target as Exhibit A of that concern. But frankly that's more about the critics' envy than anything else.
No one objects when NBA owners use their investments to become rich at a young age, as Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban or Microsoft co-founder and Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen did. And I doubt there was much criticism when Ty Cobb used a savvy investment in Coke early in the 20th century to become very rich after his playing days.
The fact that James is looking to follow the same course to success while he works to make money for his team, his league and his sponsors shows that he's a pretty smart 22-year old, someone to be admired, not scorned.


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Gourmet food trucks have been popping up everywhere, and recently they have become increasingly popular in Salt Lake City.
Julie Sheehan cooks out of and drives Torta Truck, her Italian-food business that she started in November, a few months after Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker gave public assurances that the city’s food-truck ordinances would be loosened.
Gourmet food trucks have been driving the culinary scene in Los Angeles, New York City and other metropolitan areas for several years. Salt Lake City joined the trend in 2010 with one truck that sells Asian tacos and sliders and another that sells cupcakes.
Food-truck culture is slowly rolling into Kansas City, four wheels at a time. The Good You opened in December and began parking next to 3 Girls Cupcakes, which has been wheeling around since last year.
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The Federal Trade Commission is requiring Apple to change its practices for in-app purchases and to refund money parents have already paid. Although Apple's already settled a class-action lawsuit over in-app purchases, that isn't enough, according to the FTC:
The FTC’s complaint alleges that Apple violated the FTC Act by failing to tell parents that by entering a password they were approving a single in-app purchase and also 15 minutes of additional unlimited purchases their children could make without further action by the parent.
Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a memo to employees outlining the terms of the agreement and recapping what Apple's already done, including arranging refunds for the 37,000 App Store customers who responded to e-mails and mailings sent by Apple in the wake of that class action settlement. The FTC decree clearly doesn't sit well with Cook, according to Re/code:
It doesn’t feel right for the FTC to sue over a case that had already been settled. To us, it smacked of double jeopardy. However, the consent decree the FTC proposed does not require us to do anything we weren’t already going to do, so we decided to accept it rather than take on a long and distracting legal fight.
As part of the arrangement, Apple is required to refund any in-app purchase that was made by a child without their parent's consent, and the FTC is making Apple set aside $32.5 million at the minimum to pay back those charges. App Store customers affected by an errant in-app purchase made by a minor are eligible if the purchase was made between March, 2011 and March, 2014 - the deadline the FTC has imposed for Apple to make changes to the way the App Store works.


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McRib for Christmas: McDonald's to bring back sandwich in December
Fervent fans of the McDonald’s McRib will have to wait past October and November, when the cult favorite usually emerges, until late December, according to a leaked memo.
By Tiffany Hsu
September 17, 2012


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E-commerce powerhouse eBay has reported first quarter revenues of US$4.3bn, up 14pc on last year. The company has taken the unusual step of repatriating US$9bn of overseas cash back to the US, incurring a US$3bn tax bill.
Total eBay-enabled commerce volume (ECV) increased 24pc in the first quarter to US$58 billion.
Mobile ECV advanced 70pc to US$11 billion representing 19pc of volume.
Mobile downloads since inception exceeded 240 million and attracted 6.5 million new customers in the quarter.
PayPal revenue grew to $1.8 billion. PayPal’s net total payment volume (TPV) grew 27pc with Merchant Services volume up 32pc and on-eBay volume up 15pc.
PayPal gained 5.8 million new active registered accounts to end the quarter at 148 million, up 16pc.
eBay Marketplaces revenue grew to US$2.2 billion. Marketplaces gained 4.7 million new buyers to end the quarter with 145 million active buyers, up 14pc. Top rated sellers in the company’s three largest markets grew their same-store-sales 19pc and offered free shipping on 53pc of transactions across those markets.
“We delivered a strong first quarter, with enabled commerce volume up 24pc and revenue up 14pc,” said eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe.
“We are committed to delivering sustainable shareholder value and focusing on what matters most to our investors. We are executing our growth plans, capitalising on the synergies in our portfolio and aggressively executing our US$5.0 billion share buyback program.
“Today, we also announced a non-cash tax charge to facilitate repatriation of US$6.0 billion net in foreign earnings, increasing our available US cash and enhancing our financial flexibility.”
eBay HQ image via Shutterstock


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Intel reportedly may find itself in Apple’s upcoming iPhone, which would be a significant win for a company that has found itself mostly on the outside looking in on the mobile device market.
Reports have been circulating for a couple of years that Apple was looking at Intel as a second modem supplier to Qualcomm, and officials with the company seem prepared to now make the move. Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reported late last week that some versions of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 will use Intel’s modem chips.
The Intel chips will be used in iPhones that will run on AT&T’s U.S. network and other devices for the overseas market, the sources said. However, other iPhones on Verizon’s network will continue to use modems from Qualcomm, as will iPhones sold in the lucrative China market.
Until now, Qualcomm has been the sole provider of modem chips for the iPhone. Apple officials reportedly have been considering broadening the supplier base for its devices as a way of providing bargaining power around component pricing and to protect itself against supply-chain issues. Other device makers have similar arrangements. Samsung uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 802 system-on-a-chip (SoC) in some of its Galaxy 7 smartphones, while other versions of the device run Samsung’s own Exynos processors.
For Intel, getting its modems into the iPhone would help give it the foothold in the mobile device market that has long eluded the chip maker. Intel was famously late in reacting to the rise of smartphones and tablets, which is dominated by SoCs designed by ARM and manufactured by Samsung, Qualcomm and other chip manufacturers.
Intel scrambled to catch up, putting a lot of effort and resources into developing its low-power Atom processors and using deep discounts and other methods to try to persuade device makers to use its technology in their products. However, Intel found it difficult to catch up with Qualcomm’s technological lead, and the company’s mobile business steadily lost millions of dollars every quarter.
In April, Intel officials said they were restructuring the company and refocusing its efforts around such emerging markets as the Internet of things (IoT) and cloud computing, as well as putting more emphasis on its data center business. Part of the restructuring included ending development of some chips aimed at smartphones and tablets, including its SoFIA and Broxton Atom chips.
Part of the reasoning behind the decision was to free up more resources for its work on modems and 5G, according to Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst with Moor Insights and Strategy, who was the first to report about Intel ending the work on the Atom SoCs.
“Intel has been showing some serious commitments to 5G deployment and penetration in the future, and they clearly believe that 5G is their opportunity to carve out a competitive advantage for themselves end-to-end in the future of mobility and in connecting the growing number of smart and connected ‘things’ to the cloud,” Moorhead wrote at the time. “From my vantage point, Intel has a better chance in 5G than they do in low-end 4G mobile devices.”
Apple’s adoption of Intel’s modem will mean a significant boost to the chip maker. Even though worldwide shipments of smartphones have been slowing in recent quarters as the market becomes more saturated and people hold on to their devices longer, Apple is still expected to sell tens of millions of iPhones this year. According to analysts at Gartner, Apple in the first quarter shipped more than 51.6 million iPhones, giving it 14.8 percent of the global market and placing it second behind Samsung.
However, Apple iPhone sales fell 14 percent over the same period in 2015, representing the company’s first double-digit year-over-year decline, the analysts said.


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INDIANA (www.incnow.tv) -- Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed three more lawsuits against out-of-state businesses using misleading mailers to offer copies of property deeds for fees as high as $89.
Property deeds – which are usually one to two pages – are public records and county recorders can provide copies for free or at a nominal cost, often times a $1 per page. Homeowners are not required to have copies even when they go to sell a property.
“Many consumers believe these solicitations are notices from a governmental agency requiring them to pay fees for required documents,” Zoeller said. “It is important for consumers – especially new homebuyers – to contact their local government office directly if they have any questions about copies of documents or fees related to homeownership.”
The mailers contained the property owner’s name, address, property deed document number and county recorder’s information. Interested persons would fill out the form and return it with a check, money order or credit card information.
In an effort to protect consumers from paying exorbitant fees, the Attorney General’s office filed three lawsuits this month against California-based businesses:
A lawsuit was filed in Marion County against Brian Pascal and BWPRS, Inc. doing business as Record Retrieval Department and Secured Document;
A second lawsuit was filed in Boone County against Neil Camenker and Transaction Data Services, LLC doing business as Conveyance Transfer Services, Compliance Document Services, Secured Document Services, Property Transfer Services and Record Transfer Service; and
A third lawsuit was filed in Vanderburgh County against Juan Roberto Romero Ascenscio and LA Investors, LLC doing business as Local Records Office and Home Owner Title Offices.
The companies are accused of sending government-like mailers to Indiana consumers offering copies of deeds and “property profiles” for fees ranging from $83 to $89. These profiles allegedly include a homeowner’s property address, owner’s name, comparable values and a parcel identification number – all of which is publicly available information.
“On behalf of the Indiana Recorders’ Association, I would like to thank the citizens of Indiana for making Recorders aware of these letters they've been receiving,” said Shelby County Recorder Mary Jo Phares who serves as the president of the Indiana Recorders’ Association. “The taxpayers have and will always be able to acquire a copy of their deed for $1 or $2 as opposed to the $89 these companies were requesting. The recorders of Indiana will continue to make the interests of the citizens of Indiana their top priority as it pertains to Indiana land records.”
According to the lawsuit against Ascenscio, the envelope consumers received read “Important Property Information Respond Promptly,” and contained a warning about a fine or imprisonment for interfering with the delivery of mail.
“The Marion County Recorder’s office in past, has worked with local television stations to advise the residents of Central Indiana that these letters are misleading,” said Marion County Recorder Julie Vorhies. “The letters lead the public to believe they must have a copy of the recorded deed. These letters are particularly egregious by charging an inflated price for documents. In addition the law discourages the resale of the recorded documents by commercial entities. I would like to thank Attorney General Zoeller for going after the perpetrators of these acts and protecting the residents of Indiana.”
The state alleges the companies violated the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and the Deceptive Commercial Solicitation Act. Zoeller’s office seeks an injunction, consumer restitution, civil penalties and investigative costs.
In April, Zoeller filed a lawsuit in Allen County against Illinois Deed Provider, Inc. doing business as National Record Service, Inc. and National Deed Service, Inc. for sending mailers to property owners offering certified copies of deeds for $59.50 and an additional copy for $20. A trial date in Allen County Superior Court has not yet been set, but the company has agreed to stop soliciting Indiana consumers until the case is decided.
"Area homeowners should know that Boone County does not solicit deed copies through the mail," Boone County Recorder Nicole Baldwin said. "The fee for obtaining a copy of your deed is $1 per page and can easily be obtained by stopping by the county recorder's office."
“I am grateful to our local real estate agents for their diligence in bringing this (these mailings) to our attention and therefore allowing us to pursue the necessary steps to protect our residents,” said Vanderburgh County Recorder Z Tuley.
If you have any doubts about a mailing offering a government-provided service, contact the entity directly to confirm the solicitation’s legitimacy. If you have received a notice or paid for this service, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com or requesting a complaint form be mailed to you by calling 1.800.382.5516.
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CHIMI Eyewear's Latest Campaign Composes a Beautiful Symphony
Sunglasses like you’ve never heard them before.
Swedish eyewear label CHIMI has just launched its latest campaign, this time transcending space and time by tapping composer Jacob Muhlrad to create a musical piece dubbed “The Chimi Symphony.” My main source of inspiration was the imagery of light being filtered through a UV-lens, and how that could be portrayed through the violin bow, as it creates a tone by forming friction on the string in very much the same way”, says Jacob about the piece. The composer also stars in the campaign as one of the models. “With the Chimi Suphony, we wanted to visualise how we’ve constructed the core of Chimi, where the importance of every detail is what composes the craft. Each piece is as important as the other, and without a single one, you lose the entirety,” states Chimi about the decision to turn the campaign into a musical piece.
Known for its unique approach to sunglasses and eyewear, CHIMI strengthens its visual identity by welcoming a handful of new silhouettes to its vast lineup. All crafted from Mazzucchelli acetate with a 100% protected CR-39 lens, the new shades are an extension of the label’s core collection. “We see the new collection as a bridge between our classic Core collection and our more limited edition capsules, where we’re constantly trying to challenge our customers. The idea behind the frames is to keep the timelessness but shape it to fit current trends,” said Charlie Lindström, co-founder of CHIMI, about the new selection.
The new frames are retailing at €99 EUR (approximately $107 USD), and will be available across CHIMI’s online store as well as at retailers later this spring. Experience the CHIMI symphony in the campaign above, shot by photographer Rami Hanna with creative direction from Nineties Studio, as well as the photographer himself.


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Field & Fort Opens in Summerland
Nearly two years after the closure of Cantwell’s in Summerland, a new furniture and décor shop, as well as a café, has opened in the prominent building on the eastern end of Lillie Avenue. Field + Fort is the brainchild of Santa Barbara designer Kyle Irwin and his business partner and friend, Susie Bechtel, who say the shop offers essentials for elevated living.
Irwin was one of the original owners of Botanik in Summerland when it opened in 1999; he moved on several years later, opening his own design office in an historic Spanish adobe in downtown Santa Barbara. His business soared, as he collaborated with both local and international clientele on large-scale luxury interior design projects. Irwin and Bechtel worked together on several projects, and for years had plans to open a retail store together. “After the Thomas Fire and mudflow, we began seeing the toll the disasters were taking on local businesses. We believed that if we committed to opening up a retail space, and committing to the community, that others would follow,” Irwin said.
When the Cantwell’s building became available in Summerland, the duo knew it would be the perfect fit for their new venture. With a retail space on the main floor, Irwin houses his design business upstairs; there is also a residential space on the property.
The building, which was purchased in April 2018, has been completely remodeled, including the addition of a commercial kitchen. “Originally we wanted to offer just coffee and tea, and it soon evolved into a café,” Irwin said, adding that they recruited Austin Moore, a burgeoning chef from Portland, to head up the café program, using local produce from small farms, and organic products whenever possible. The menu, which will be expanded in the coming weeks, includes breakfast and lunch items such as gourmet avocado toast, frittata, farmers’ market salads and sandwiches, and a variety of in-house baked goods as well as croissants and bread from the Baker’s Table. Future plans include offering dinner items to take home. Guests can sit outside at one of several tables or lounge chairs, at an interior long communal dining table – an antique from an old convent in France – or take their food to go. “It’s been really special to watch people gather here and reconnect with each other. That was always our goal: to offer a gathering space,” Irwin said.
The retail space is filled with a mix of antiques, furniture, and various home goods, including accessories, bedding, kitchenware, candles, gifts, and much more. There is also a variety of gourmet pantry items, from artisanal honey and nuts, to organic pasta sauce and dried pasta from Italy, to organic teas and coffee. “The entire store is a curated mix of our absolute favorite things,” Irwin said. And while many of the offerings are not easily found elsewhere, there are also tried and true brands like Staub cookware, which Irwin uses in his own kitchen.
Irwin says the majority of the furniture pieces at the shop are one-of-a-kind antiques, sourced from buying trips all over the world. Field + Fort’s own line, F+F, offers locally made furniture designed by Irwin, which is customizable in size and textiles. Because the vast majority of the pieces in the store are for immediate sale, the offerings, as well as the aesthetic, will change. “Already we’ve been moving things around as items have sold, and we will incorporate the textures of the season into the design of the space,” Irwin said.
The store opened on Monday, November 11, and has been warmly welcomed into the community. “It’s been very special to see,” he said.
Field + Fort is open seven days a week from 9 am to 5 pm; 2580 Lillie Ave in Summerland. For more information, visit www.fieldandfort.com.
Last week Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that he is taking meaningful action to help homeowners find adequate coverage to protect their homes throughout California. Lara has ordered the California FAIR Plan to offer a comprehensive policy in addition to its current dwelling fire-only coverage by June 1, 2020, with traditional homeowner features, such as coverage for water damage and personal liability.
“I am taking this action after meeting with thousands of California homeowners across the state who are struggling to find coverage to protect their homes,” said Commissioner Lara in a statement. Lara was in Montecito in August, in a meeting arranged by Assembly Member Monique Limon. The meeting included the Montecito Association’s Insurance Committee, which includes Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor, Lisa Valencia Sherratt from the Office of Supervisor Williams, MA board members Aimee Miller, Houghton Hyatt, Robert Kemp, MA executive director Sharon Byrne, and community member Patty Swenson, as well as members of the Mission Canyon Association and several Montecito residents who had been faced with the issue of insurance non-renewals.
We’ve been reporting on the issue of non-renewals since January of this year, when hundreds of Montecito residents were issued non-renewals from their insurance companies following the one-year anniversary of the 1/9 debris flow. The topic has been discussed at length on online forums such as NextDoor.com, and has been taken up by the Montecito Association, whose Insurance Committee conducted an in-depth survey of non-renewals in our community. Respondents reported that they have struggled to find alternate insurance policies, or faced significantly higher premiums for less coverage. For those unable to find a carrier, the last resort has been the California FAIR Plan, which is a Los Angeles-based association comprised of all insurers authorized to transact basic property insurance in California. Coverage is available to all California property owners, as long as required guidelines are met (there are limits on vacant homes and homes with existing damage). Because FAIR coverage is capped at $1.5 million, which has been unadjusted since the early 1990s, voluntary insurance companies have been offering special subsidy programs that will provide for excess coverage. “People forced to use the FAIR Plan as temporary insurance deserve the same coverage provided by traditional insurers. This crisis requires the FAIR Plan to provide a comprehensive option for Californians who have no other option for homeowners insurance,” Lara said.
Effective April 1, 2020, the FAIR Plan will increase the combined dwelling coverage limit from $1.5 million to $3 million. Increasing the FAIR Plan’s dwelling coverage limit makes sense in today’s real estate market in Montecito and other areas of California; in many areas where people are forced to turn to the FAIR Plan for coverage, they find the $1.5 million coverage limit is not enough and need to find additional coverage, often through the surplus lines market. The Commissioner also ordered the FAIR Plan to offer consumers a monthly payment plan and to be able to pay by credit card or electronic funds transfer, all without fees.
These changes are in addition to other changes that Commissioner Lara convinced the FAIR Plan to undertake earlier this year, including providing more transparency in their meetings and allowing the Department of Insurance to participate in those meetings and mandating the FAIR Plan obtain Department approval prior to disbursing operating profits back to participating insurers. The FAIR Plan is established under California law as the homeowners’ “insurer of last resort,” and requiring the FAIR Plan to offer a comprehensive homeowners’ policy, known as HO-3 coverage, will save consumers from having to purchase a second companion policy to cover other hazards such as liability, water damage, and theft.
Lara stated that while the FAIR Plan is intended as a temporary solution, it is important that its product mirrors traditional coverage as much as possible. “Many of the affected California homeowners have already been inconvenienced by planned power outages by utilities, mandatory evacuations, and repeated wildfire threats year after year. Requiring these same homeowners to have to piece together multiple policies to achieve full coverage is needlessly burdensome,” he said. “Restoring stability to the homeowners and fire insurance marketplace will take everyone working together to find solutions.”
For more information, visit www.insurance.ca.gov.


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Square Enix and Reto-Moto have released a new update for Heroes & Generals which shows some of the basic features it has added. We had previewed the alpha build of the game which you can check out over here, and it contained a lot of great things however it was a bit unpolished but that was a long time ago.
The game has come far now as you can see in the video and this patch titled Felber update is supposed to make it even better.
Multiple new features have been added to Heroes & Generals in the recent build called ‘Felber’. These include the addition of new tanks, motorbikes, a new game mode and a brand new map. Generals have also been given the ability to level up their Assault Teams and each faction now has a brand new musical composition from award winning composer Jesper Kyd.
Tell us what you think in the comments section below.


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Temple Run is finally available on Windows Phone platform. The version launched on Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 platform is the original Temple Run game, not the recently launched Temple Run 2 (read our review).
“At the risk of stating the obvious, Temple Run sets you off on one of the most heart-pounding challenges ever,” said Microsoft in a blog post.
“Swipe to turn, jump and slide as you race over obstacles and whip around corners on a pathway resembling China’s Great Wall, all on your way to capturing hidden treasure. Collect coins, buy power-ups, and see just how far your feet can take you, with the beat of native drums setting your pace.”
The original Temple Run has so far seen a massive popularity with more than 170 million downloads from Apple's App Store and Google Play since its launch in 2011. Following its success, Imangi Studios came up with a sequal for Android and iOS platforms – Temple Run 2. In the meanwhile, Imangi also tied up with Disney to launch two themed versions of the game called Temple Run Brave, and Temple Run Oz.
Temple Run is available for free on Windows Phone 8 platform. You can Download the game from here.
Temple Run for Windows Phone
Besides Temple Run 2, Microsoft has rolled out a slew of other games including the Gravity Guy 2, the next series of the popular Gravity Guy. The game priced at $2.99 is available for download now, and will be sold exclusively to Windows Phone for next month.
"New Windows Phone 8-compatible gaming engines make it much easier for programmers to quickly create Windows Phone versions of their Android and iOS games, so keep you eye on the Store in the months ahead for even more great titles to arrive," Microsoft's Michael Stroh wrote in a blog post Wednesday.


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According to the Ministry of Environment, BMW submitted underrated emissions results for 81,483 units across 28 models -- 10 diesel-powered and 18 fuel-powered models. The latest finding concerns documents of vehicles certified between 2012 and early 2015.
The ministry said it is expected to cancel certification of the concerned models in mid-November, after holding a hearing.
The automaker has also been imposed a penalty of 2.9 billion won for selling 7,781 vehicles across 11 models made without modification certification or modification reporting between 2013 and 2016, the ministry said.
Due to the latest findings, BMW Korea has voluntarily suspended sales of seven models: BMW M4 Convertible, BMW M4 Coupe, BMW M6 Grand Coupe, BMW M6 Coupe, BMW X1 xDrive 18d, Mini Copper S Convertible, Mini Copper S.
“This issue is limited solely to irregularities in certification documents. There are no technical or safety issues with the vehicles,” said the spokesperson of BMW Korea.
“Vehicles meet the Korean technical and emission requirements and also the European or the US model requirements. Customers can continue to drive and use their vehicles as before with full peace of mind.”
High-end German auto companies Mercedes-Benz Korea and Porsche were also levied 2.9 billion and 7.8 billion won, respectively, for importing and selling cars without modification certification.
“There was no falsification or alteration of test results in certification by intention found in Mercedes-Benz vehicles during the Seoul Customs Office’s investigation. Accordingly, it is confirmed that there is no cancellation of product certification by the Ministry of Environment,” said Mercedes-Benz Korea.
“However, among 200,000 vehicles analyzed, customs import declarations were made for some vehicles after applying for certification but before the certification was issued and customs import declarations were made without modification certification or modification reporting.”
By Kim Bo-gyung (email@example.com)


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Ian Ginsburg thinks he may have found a novel therapy for the narrowing margins at his Greenwich Village apothecary, C.O. Bigelow Chemists: homeopathic remedies.
For the last 10 years, Mr. Ginsburg has been nurturing a line of homeopathic remedies, treatments that operate on the premise that like cures like-a dash of ragweed in an allergy potion, for example. Today, Mr. Ginsburg calls his store the largest single-dose homeopathy source in town and counts on these remedies for up to 15% of his volume.
"We no longer make any money on prescription drugs," Mr. Ginsburg laments about the pharmacy, which his family has owned for three generations. "In fact," he says with a rueful smile, "most of the time a customer's `co-pay' is more money than I'm making."
With the advent of managed care and the expansion to New York City of regional and national drugstore chains, independent pharmacies like C.O. Bigelow have had to look for new sources of income to stay healthy. More than a few have latched onto the growing consumer interest in alternative medicine. They are stocking up on homeopathic medicines, and finding that the opportunity for profit is far greater than with prescription drugs alone.
Since managed health care plans rewrote the rules on prescription drugs, C.O. Bigelow's margin is an average $2.50 per prescription. That, Mr. Ginsburg says, is "barely enough to pay for the pharmacists." Reimbursement from insurers is also problematic. "Along the way, I have to pay for the inventory and then wait three to eight weeks to be reimbursed. That's why small pharmacies are closing."
With homeopathic medicines, markups are at the seller's discretion, and can be 50% or more. Pharmacist Jerry Hickey says that while homeopathic cures retail for up to $15, they can cost him as little as $2. Mr. Hickey opened his second Hickey Chemist in Manhattan in June. A third is scheduled to open this month, in New Hyde Park, L.I.
About 10% of Hickey Chemist's $5 million in revenues comes from homeopathic cures now, including imports from France, England and Germany, where these extracts have long been in common use. Both Hickey and Bigelow also stock books about homeopathy and sell through mail-order catalogs.
Adding homeopathic lines does not seem to subtract from prescription sales. According to a recent trade journal article quoting Dr. Wayne B. Jonas, director of the federal government's new Office of Alternative Medicine, 80% of the people seeking alternative remedies use them with conventional medicine.
Alternative remedies soar
Annual sales of homeopathic remedies nationwide recently passed the $200 million mark. What's more, visits to practitioners of alternative medicine, at 425 million a year nationwide, have surpassed visits to primary care physicians, according to a publication of The New York Academy of Sciences. That has sent the sales of all alternative remedies soaring-to $3.77 billion last year, from $2 billion in 1991.
But there may be clouds on the horizon. Gina Freon, medical affairs manager at the Newtown Square, Pa., office of Boiron, a French maker of homeopathic remedies, cautions that the 10% to 15% annual growth in homeopathic sales may not continue. Indeed, Mr. Hickey says, in the last five years homeopathic remedies have not grown as fast as other alternative remedies he stocks.
Since homeopathic treatments aren't considered drugs by Food and Drug Administration standards, they can be sold by a wide variety of retailers, from natural food stores to vitamin shops. And while many of the independent stores rely on single-ingredient remedies that require trained salespeople to assist customers in making selections, chain drugstores have begun to stock pre-packaged homeopathic treatments.
Salespeople trained to guide consumers through the hundreds of options single-ingredient remedies present can cost an independent pharmacy $15 an hour-about twice what the chains pay their staffs. Manufacturers' printed materials, sales representatives and occasional seminars will help in training employees; the companies also educate consumers with counter displays and in-store literature. But, according to Mr. Hickey, "their floor displays could be better, and they don't buy enough advertising."
Even with a 50% markup, independents need volume to make money on homeopathic remedies. That means extra spending on in-store flyers to stuff into outgoing packages, press releases, lectures, window displays, free samples and a person to distribute leaflets from time to time. Mr. Hickey bolsters his homeopathy business with a daily radio call-in show, which he plans to syndicate. Mr. Ginsburg occasionally hosts seminars and sends his audiences, of up to 100 people, home with free samples.


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Sony BMG Music Entertainment said Monday it will pull some of its most popular CDs from stores in response to backlash over copy-protection software on the discs.
Sony also said it will offer exchanges for consumers who purchased the discs, which contain hidden files that leave them vulnerable to computer viruses when played on a PC.
Details about how long it will take to replace the XCP CDs and about its consumer exchange program will come later in the week, Sony said.
Sony began adding copy-protection to its CDs in June 2004 with the release of a record by the band Velvet Revolver, saying it was taking a step against unauthorized online file-sharing and CD burning.
The label says it will issue all major releases with copy-protection in 2006, as will rival label EMI. The other major labels, Universal Music and Warner, have yet to release copy-protected CDs.
Sony also issues copy-protected CDs using software from digital rights management company SunnComm. But those, which include releases by the Foo Fighters and the Dave Matthews Band, haven't come under the same kind of attack.
However, many artists have spoken out about all forms of copy-protected CDs, including Matthews, the Foo Fighters and Christian rock band Switchfoot. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones are set to release a new album on Sony in January, and it will not be copy protected, says Fleck's manager, David Bendett.
Frustrated when he bought a copy-protected Dave Matthews release and couldn't copy it to his Apple iPod, Fleck insisted that Sony not release his new album with such restrictions, Bendett says.
Sony says its copy-protected CDs are clearly marked, but the front labels don't identify whether they use the XCP software. That information is included in small print on the back of the CD, which reads "?cp.sonybmg.com/xcp".
sony foolishly sticks by its plans to include DRM in future releases. not a smart move, especially since consumers are now more likely to be paying attention to whether a release has DRM. but at least sony has realized that xcp went too far. the question is whether they would try another malicious DRM product in the hopes that this time nobody will notice, or whether the DRM-as-spyware technique has seen its last days. i'm afraid it hadn't, but i'm cynical like that.¶


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A mild winter spurred farmers to sow crops earlier and in larger numbers, allowing seed company Monsanto Co. to reap a 35-percent higher profit in its fiscal third quarter.
A cattle ranch is teaming up with an investment organization funded by eBay Inc. founder Pierre Omidyar to research large-scale grass-fed beef production on the Big Island.
A group of Martha's Vineyard fishermen on Tuesday dropped a lawsuit aimed at derailing the planned Cape Wind offshore wind farm, saying they will instead work with the developers on ways to co-exist.
Drought-stricken cattle ranchers in Wyoming are looking to surrounding states for grazing land, and their best bet might be North Dakota, where farmers this year have been luckier than their neighbors.
The food maker's brands which include Cheerios and Hamburger Helper remain some of the most popular. But like most of its peers, the company has struggled with higher costs for everything from ingredients to labor and been forced to raise prices to offset them.
According to the most recent NMI Health and Wellness Study, Generation Yers believe in the benefits of, and are willing to pay a premium for, functional foods. The study also indicates that most consumers are using functional foods, with Gen Y reporting greater increased usage compared to the total.
Cabot Creamery Cooperative, maker of cheese, butter and other dairy products, is phasing out labels with the state on the logo. A green outline of the state is being dropped in favor of a green barn and the words "Owned by our Farm Families in New York & New England."
McCormick & Co. said Wednesday that its second-quarter net income rose 9 percent, buoyed in part by higher prices, strength in emerging markets and acquisitions.
A U.N. agency has warned that a livestock epidemic in Congo that has killed more than 75,000 goats is the worst in a decade and is now threatening goats and sheep in neighboring countries.
One old logo has "Cabot" stamped over a green outline of the state, with the word "Vermont" next to it. Another just has the shape of Vermont under the word "Cabot." The new one has a green barn and the words "Owned by our Farm Families in New York & New England."
North Korea dispatched soldiers to pour buckets of water on parched fields and South Korean officials scrambled to save a rare mollusk threatened by the heat as the worst dry spell in a century gripped the Korean Peninsula.
"Companies are realizing that women comprise a very heavy percentage of the cocktail-drinking community and I believe they are starting to speak more directly to women without the fear that they're going to alienate the male base," says Allison Evanow, one of the relatively few female executives in the spirits industry as founder and CEO of Square One Organic Spirits in San Francisco.
Healthy Choice Island Blends, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA, is recalling all sizes of LIQUID GOLD CARROT JUICE including 128oz, 64oz, 32oz, and 16 oz, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism, a serious and potentially fatal foodborne illness.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index is at 62. That's down from the 64.4 reading in May and the 63.2 analysts were expecting. The index remains well below the 90 reading that indicates a healthy economy — a level it hasn't been near since the recession began in December 2007.
The fast-food giant, a top Olympics sponsor with exclusive rights to sell branded food products inside the venue, said Monday its two-story restaurant at the games will be its biggest and busiest in the world, seating 1,500 diners and serving up to 14,000 people a day.
Hershey Co. reaffirmed its full-year forecast and set its long-term financial goals Monday as it outlined plans to build its business around five key candy brands.
A livestock producer in Shawano County has agreed to shut down until it can prove to federal authorities that its cows aren't being overdosed with antibiotics.
As National Hot Dog Month approaches in July and Americans prepare to chow down on an estimated 150 million wieners on Independence Day alone, a new survey finds that while many Americans differ in preferences for what's on their hot dogs, 77 percent of Americans are concerned about what's in their hot dogs.
Chicago-based Bel Brands USA is holding a groundbreaking ceremony this week for a new cheese plant in Brookings.
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie said Monday he plans to veto a bill that would remove mandatory certification for Hawaii-grown coffee, a measure Kona coffee farmers said would be disastrous for the industry's integrity and reputation.


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Record numbers of students graduating from the University of
Otago and Otago Polytechnic and a big scientific conference
are expected to pump millions of dollars into Dunedin's
economy over the next month.
The 15th annual Collections show this Friday night unveils
the collections of third-year fashion students at the Otago
Polytechnic's School of Design, including some that travelled
to the recent Shanghai Fashion Week. Jude Hathaway


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Three Aarhus restaurants were given Michelin stars Thursday as the first ever Michelin Nordic Cities guide was presented in Stockholm.
The Aarhus restaurants Frederikshøj, Gastromé and Restaurant Substans were all granted one star from the venerable French guide.
“We have some of Denmark’s best chefs in Aarhus, who really deserve the recognition. It will have a huge impact on tourism that the city’s gastronomic level has now been given the stamp of approval from the ultimate food bible – especially in the run-up to 2017, when Aarhus is the European Capital of Culture and many potential international guests will turn their attention to the city,” Peer Kristensen, the head of the tourist organization Visit Aarhus, said in a statement.
Of course, Copenhagen – which has the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the Nordics – wasn’t left out.
Noma, which for four of the past five years has laid claim to the title of the world’s best restaurant, was once again granted two stars, as were Geranium and a|o|c. Twelve Copenhagen restaurants were given one Michelin star.
An additional twelve restaurants in Copenhagen and two in Aarhus were given Michelin’s ‘Bib Gourmand’ distinction, which goes to restaurants that offer “exceptionally good food at moderate prices”.
The new Michelin Nordic Cities guide marks the first time that the famed guide has included cities from outside of the Nordic capitals. Next door in Sweden, three restaurants in Malmö where given a Michelin star, including Bloom in the Park. The restaurant's head chef, Titti Qvarnström, spoke to The Local Sweden about being the first female chef to claim a Michelin.
The full list of Danish Michelin stars is as follows:
a|o|c, Copenhagen (first-time winner)
One star (Copenhagen):
Den Røde Cottage
Grønbech & Churchill
Studio at the Standard
One star (Aarhus)
Frederikshøj (first-time winner)
Gastromé (first-time winner)
Substans (first-time winner)
Bib Gourmand (Copenhagen)
Marv & Ben
Bib Gourmand (Aarhus)


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Gloria Brown’s new career is on the rise with the launch of her new business, Bella Balloons and Creations, at 122 Jones Road in Wellongate Shopping Plaza.
Brown retired last year from the cable industry.
“I got bored and needed to figure out something to do,” she said, adding that she thought taking a balloon class in Wilson might be fun.
“I was amazed to find out all the things you could do with balloons,” Brown said, and she decided to name her business after her 7-year-old granddaughter, Bella.
Brown said she offers different balloon creations such as yard signs, arches, garlands and columns, which are built on a pole and base. Balloon arches take about two hours to make.
Birthdays, weddings, graduations and proms are all occasions that Brown said are enhanced with balloons, which she can have made with photographs on them.
“I can order custom backdrops or decorate ones that people have,” Brown said, who can also create balloon centerpieces to brighten up tables.
Brown said she can get balloons in any color and keeps the basic colors in stock. Orders should be made at least two weeks in advance, but if a custom color is required, Brown said she can match it — but more than two weeks would be needed.
She said customers need to show her, not tell her, what colors they want.
“I’ve had people tell me they want ‘blue,’” Brown said. “Do you know how many shades of blue there are?”
Her most challenging color request, she said, was a particular neon green, which was needed to match a monster display. It took Brown five tries to find the perfect match.
Brown works with both air and helium balloons but said air is used in the sculptures and is more popular. Keeping the environment in mind, Brown said she advises customers to pop their helium balloons after use and put them in the trash, rather than release them.
Brown also has a 360 photo booth, which she says is popular to rent at parties because it takes moving videos of participants.
“People are just fascinated with balloons,” Brown said, “and I think they just make people happy.”
Bella Balloons and Creations is on Facebook under Bellaballoonsandcreationsllc. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday and by appointment only on Monday.


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Our system is meant as a public resource to connect with companies that might offer better discounts for insurance plans in most states
Dayton, OH (PRWEB) September 09, 2014
Ohio car owners will now have a way to keep track of rising or reduced prices in the auto industry for insurance plans thanks to the Quotes Pros website. Car insurance quotes for Ohio drivers have been added inside of the open system for price research at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html.
The connections that are now made with car owners and insurers in the U.S. are possible due to the Quotes Pros finder tool built for use this year. Upgrades have now been made to feature more providers by state in Ohio and other parts of the country. Owners of cars will enter a valid OH zip code when entering the search tool to begin evaluating prices.
"Our system is meant as a public resource to connect with companies that might offer better discounts for insurance plans in most states," said one Quotes Pros source.
The American drivers who are expected to use the state of Ohio search system this year will gain entry to a variety of coverage plans available. The insurers in the system who can underwrite protection plans provide state minimum, full coverage, liability and other forms of insurance that is quoted in real time.
"The provider network that our system is linked to makes it possible for owners of vehicles to research changes in price data through each company," said the source.
The Quotes Pros company website was first launched in 2013 to provide a listing of insurers that could quote price data for consumers over the Internet. Since the launch of the national extension, policies for life and homeowners protection are now entered into the finder at http://quotespros.com/homeowners-insurance.html.
The QuotesPros.com company is one of the sources in the United States that supplies direct quotations to consumers through its interconnected insurer portal online. The company offers a go between to help agencies and consumers make contact to quote pricing for policies. The QuotesPros.com company website is always updated with new agencies and access to price data that is positioned to assist the general public.


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In case it’s a new term to you, net neutrality is the idea that there should not be preferential treatment given to how information is transmitted across the Internet.
That seems like a pretty simple concept, but keep in mind that even though the Web is public, various components of it are privately owned. And the companies that own those components feel they should be able to charge for their use as they see fit since they foot the bill for building and maintaining it.
The FCC has long held a position in favor of net neutrality, but their jurisdiction has been restricted recently. So they’re in a tough position with this latest round of activity, which centers on the (mostly negative) reaction to Google and Verizon’s August proposal to maintain net neutrality on wired connections, but allow for “differentiated online services” across wireless networks.
Things get complicated quickly. It’s a slightly different set of circumstances in the wireless world, since those networks are wholly owned by single entities, for the most part. (Verizon owns its network, AT&T owns its network, etc.) And there are much more difficult issues of supply and demand at the moment – the network owners simply can’t keep up with the explosive growth in demand as more and more people buy and use smartphones and other data-aware mobile devices.
So it’s not quite as simple as the old-guard, open-Web purists would have you believe, but it is troubling that something like this could open the doors to a two-tiered Web where it’s faster and easier to get some information than other.
It’s one thing if corporate partnerships make it easier for you to watch your favorite NBC shows than to watch your favorite CBS shows on your mobile device because of some corporate partnership they’ve struck, but it’s another entirely if those partnerships make it difficult or impossible to access news with a particular editorial position for example, or worse, if they squelch innovation and consumer choice by blocking apps or features that compete with their favored apps or features.
Bottom line: anything other than full net neutrality is likely to be a loss for consumers (and citizens, though I hate to get too high-falutin’), but the issue deserves better than to be reduced to silly sound bites.


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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (The News Service of Florida) - Should Florida allow Wawa, 7-Eleven or the neighborhood Joe's Garage, where customers can now buy a six-pack and fill up the car, to also stock fifths of vodka, tequila and rum?
The prolonged legislative battle over repealing a Depression-era law known as the "liquor wall," which prohibits mixing liquor with groceries in one-stop shopping experiences, has moved from a fight among giant retailers to lawmakers arguing over spirits at gas stations.
The House this week delayed a vote on the proposed repeal (HB 81) because of a provision in the Senate version of the bill (SB 106) that sets a 10,000-square-foot-and-above size limit on gas stations that can receive liquor licenses.
House sponsor Rep. Bryan Avila, R-Hialeah, said he hasn't been lobbied by chain gas stations. But he is hearing from House and Senate members who have different opinions about whether the proposed size limit is too large or too small.
"Some members feel that it shouldn't be in. Some feel that it should. Some feel that it should be revised," Avila said.
Lakeland-based Publix has backed away from its years of opposition to repealing the law, as provisions have been added to the House and Senate bills that would stagger full implementation --- by slowly increasing the amount of liquor that could be sold in grocery stores and other retail outlets over a four-year period. Publix operates stand-alone liquor stores in many of the same shopping centers as its grocery stores.
The staggered implementation was seen as enough to help the Senate vote 21-17 last week to approve the repeal bill, which is backed by retail giants Target and Walmart that want to sell liquor in their stores.
And it was thought the change would be enough to get the House to buy in.
Senate bill sponsor Anitere Flores, R-Miami, said Thursday she is "hopeful" the House will to take up the Senate's language.
"I'm not even sure what they feel the gas station issue is," Flores said. "Is it that they want liquor to be sold in gas stations? If they do, that's not the mood of the Senate at all. If their issue is that `well if Busy Bee can, then the local Shell station can,' that's not going to fly in the Senate."
The provision is seen as allowing larger retailers that sell beer and have gas memberships, such as Sam's Club and Costco, to obtain liquor licenses, while omitting convenience stores that may be 2,500 to 5,000 square feet.
Sen. Frank Artiles, a Miami Republican who voted against the bill, said Thursday that with the issue "in flux," he expects the Senate will again have to address the issue.
Last week, during a highly spirited floor debate, Artiles said the gas station provision provides an unfair advantage to out-of-state corporations.
"We have gas stations, hundreds, thousands of local gas stations that are exempted in this bill," Artiles said. "These bills don't just stack the deck against small businesses, they ensure that they don't even get a fair-hand. If this bill becomes law, it will decimate the family-owned small business, and unfortunately a lot of Floridians will lose their jobs."
Avila said other lawmakers have expressed concerns about a proliferation of liquor stores on every corner, which he added shouldn't be an issue due to the state's liquor license quota system and local zoning requirements.
"We're still trying to work the issue out," Avila said. "We're still trying to come to a comfortable place with that provision."